Archive for January, 2010

I’ve always loved the image of the Moon rising over the ocean, quietly replenishing us with its cool tranquility. After the action of the day, we are soothed by the Sun’s light reflected back over the shoulder of our planet and onto the Moon. The Moon has always held sway over the oceans and their tides, inviting all living things into a natural rhythm with its celestial timing. Our hour is one length of the Moon as it moves through our skies, 24 lengths total. I remember playing, as a girl, on the beach under the light of the full Moon — enjoying the abundance of life during the low tide, and taking the time to count all the mating Moon Snails glowing like small planets in the moonlight. This rich display of life on Earth is contingent on multiple relationships, but perhaps its most important one is with our moon.

Current theories suggest that the Moon originated out of the Earth, dislodging itself while pulling its mother into an electric dance, but people have always intuitively understood the universal forces at play. Ancient stories of the division of the waters, of day emerging from night, of the creation of time, and of the swirling of energies are all reflected in recent scientific understandings of the self-organizing structures of life on our planet. Life on any planet is only possible with a small amount of axial variation, a narrow corridor of a few degrees, beyond which conditions become too extreme to support life. Our large moon stabilizes Earth’s axial inclination through gyroscopic action. In addition to stabilizing the planet, it also forms a strong magnetic field through its attraction with Earth, protecting us from cosmic radiation and causing the tides.

Tidal action is one of the most visible earthly manifestations of these currents at work, but there are also more subtle magnetic movements of water and other elements throughout the phases of the Moon.

The spirit of the Moon’s relationships are best understood not as cause and effect, but as correlations and resonances. There is an energetic presence of the moon that permeates us to our core. The Moon’s effects on water is one way to understand this cycle of energy at work. Water is in constant flux — a drop joined by many forms oceans, transpires into clouds, and is captured and filtered by mountains and their aquifers, and is released in a purer state — ready to quench the thirst of life on Earth. This movement continues because another larger swell and ebb of the vast oceans of water are transpiring through trees and the capillary action exerted by the moon, the giant heart/drum stirring us into action. So when I look up and see the moon and feel my heart beating I can think of an infinite number of reasons to feel grateful for its company.